041124-N-8977L-001 San Diego, Calif. (Nov. 24, 2004) - The maneuvering watch aboard the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Topeka (SSN 754) prepares for mooring after being underway for three days off the coast of San Diego, Calif. Sailors aboard Topeka participated in Submarine Squadron Eleven’s (COMSUBRON 11) Chef Exchange Program in which chef Paul Murphy from Humphrey’s by the Bay, in San Diego, spent three days aboard Topeka giving Culinary Specialists tips and techniques on how to improve the quality of food and service aboard Topeka. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Johansen Laurel (RELEASED)

The first TOPEKA
was originally built in 1881 in Germany for Portugal as the Diogenes,
but
Portugal never took over the ship. She went to Thames Iron Works
in England where the US Navy bought her on April 2, 1898 and commissioned
her the same day as USS TOPEKA (PG 35) (Patrol Gunboat). She took
part
in the blockade of Cuba during the Spanish-American War and was
decommissioned and recommissioned four times between 1898 and 1923
before her final
decommissioning in 1929. She was stricken from the Navy list on
January 2, 1930.

The
second TOPEKA was built by Bethlehem Steel Company of Quincy, MA. It
was placed in commission
as a light cruiser (CL 67) on December 23, 1944. The TOPEKA joined Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's
Third
Fleet in the Pacific on June 1, 1945. She operated with the fleet against
the home islands of Japan through the
end of World War II. TOPEKA returned to the US in November 1945. She remained
in active service until
June 18, 1949, when she was placed out of commission in reserve at San Francisco,
CA.

The
third USS TOPEKA was born from the second. USS TOPEKA (CL 67) was towed
from
California to
New York Naval Shipyard in 1957 for conversion to a guided missile light cruiser.
The conversion was
completed in 1960, and on March 26, 1960, USS TOPEKA (CLG 8) was commissioned
at Brooklyn
Naval Shipyard.

Her initial homeport was Long Beach, CA from where she deployed
to the Western
Pacific (WESTPAC) four times. Her fourth WESTPAC included operations in the South
China Sea and
Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War.

She served as flagship for Cruiser Destroyer
Group, Seventh
Fleet on that deployment and fired her guns against an enemy for the first time
in 21 years, over 3,000
rounds of 5-inch and 6-inch ammunition.

USS
TOPEKA (CLG 8) transferred to the Mayport, FL in 1968. After a Mediterranean
cruise with the Sixth Fleet, TOPEKA was decommissioned in Boston, MA
on June 5, 1969. Her name was struck from the Navy list on December
1, 1973, and she was sold for scrap on March 20, 1975.

The current USS TOPEKA (SSN 754) is counted as the third
ship named for the capitol city. It was launched January 23, 1988 and
commissioned October 21, 1989 as a fast attack nuclear submarine, the
43rd of the USS LOS ANGELES Class. TOPEKA was initially homeported in
Honolulu, HI and moved to San Diego, CA, its current homeport, in November
2002

Photo on left coutersy of http://www.navy.mil/search/photolist.asp
San Diego, Calif. (Nov. 24, 2004) - The maneuvering watch aboard the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Topeka (SSN 754) prepares for mooring after being underway for three days off the coast of San Diego, Calif. Sailors aboard Topeka participated in Submarine Squadron Eleven’s (COMSUBRON 11) Chef Exchange Program in which chef Paul Murphy from Humphrey’s by the Bay, San Diego, spent three days aboard the submarine giving Culinary Specialists tips and techniques on how to improve the quality of food and service aboard Topeka. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Johansen Laurel (RELEASED)